ALPHADROME ROBOT AND SPACE TOY DATABASE

Space Guns

TOM CORBETT SPACE CADET CLICKER RAY GUN - MAKER? - AUSTRALIA?Silver plastic space gun. This is a variation of the Palmer Space Ray Gun Clicker Pistol. It is appreciably larger - 6" (see comparison shot). It has been suggested that this is an Australian gun. There may be a connection to Palmer Plastics, the designer of the smaller version.

"Tom Corbett" is molded on one side and "Space Cadet" on the other. Simple click action. 1950s Box? Packaging?

The series aired on Australian TV in 1954.

TOM CORBETT SPACE CADET OFFICIAL SPACE PISTOL - MARX - USABrightly lithographed tin retro style clicker space gun. 9.5"" The gun has a picture of Tom Corbett on the handle and Space Cadet is printed on the barrel. Copyright Rockhill Productions. Based on the original 1935 Flash Gordon Radio Repeater Click Pistol pressin by Marx. 1952, though proof of the date is elusive.

A patent was published in 1952. Featured on a magazine cover dated 1953
Pat No. 169315.
Inventor Mahlon Hirsch

TOM CORBETT SPACE GUN - MARX - USALarge 20 inch lithographed tin and plastic space rifle with multiple actions. Sparking action. This multicolore rifle has a yellow plastic front end with a red plastic muzzle and a blue plastic stock. The body of the gun is brightly lithographed tin. A spring mechanism is mounted on top. The litho includes the name Tom Corbett Space Cadet and the serial number 1507-A.

This gun was recycled throughout the 1950's, it was used with slight litho changes for the Tom Corbett Space Cadet Gun, and the Rex Mars Planet Patrol Space Gun as well as an earlier G-Man type machine gun. Two box versions are known: the official Tom Corbett box and a G-Man box with a Tom Corbett stamp crudely added. Widely advertised in 1952. Gangster crossover.

TOMI GUN ELECTRO-KLIK - SHAWNEE MANUFACTURING CO - USAHard plastic space gun, battery powered flashlight action. The gus have a cylindrical structure at the back with lightning moldings on the side and TOMI molded in the handle. When the trigger is pressed the light flashes on and off rapidly, giving the suggestion of firing. Color versions: blue, green, yellow.

Both the water pistol and flashlight types share the same patent number for a flashlight gun patented in the early 30's, though not a Tomi gun.

Advertised in newspapers in May 1948. The gun appears in a Billboard Magazine ad from January 8, 1949

Still on sale in 1959.

TOMI WATER GUN - SHAWNEE Mfg - USAPlastic water gun with cylindrical structure at the back. Lightning bolt molded in the sides. Red filler cap and nozzles. When the trigger is pulled a it presses an arm upwards against a bellows and this sprays the water. It's not a pump mechanism as found on more common water pistols.

The cap on the back of the gun is removable to load water. On the battery operates version, this cap is glued into place.

Marked TOMI on the handle. Available in a wide range of colors. See also the Electro-Klik flashlight version of this space gun. Box?

On sale in August 1947.

TOMIK 6 SHOOTER SPACE GUN - THOMAS TOYS - USASmall (4") rocket-shaped plastic space gun. Shoots six rubber bands. Metallic blue, silver and grey versions were produced. Red and yellow versions have also been identified: these may have been produced by the Thomas Toy sister company, Poplar Playthings, in Wales.

The bands are all loaded. Pulling the trigger raises a ratchet up out of the large tail fin. After the first band goes, each successive trigger pull, lifts the remaining bands up one notch, until all have fired. Sold on a target card with rubber bands.

The gun appears as Item No 291 in the Thomas Toys catalog for 1956.

TOMMY GUN WATER RIFLE, BARBARELLA - MAKS - HONG KONGA plastic machine pistol. Water pistol action. 24cm Sold in a bag with header card and called "Tommy Gun". Despite the military connection the gun has space lines, particularly the ring sections on the top. This is a copy of an earlier German design. Mak's

The main space connection is the fact that the gun, probably the German version, was used in the movie "Barbarella".

TOMMY Z GUN - MIURA - JAPANLarge plastic space machine gun. Clear red barrel, silver body and stock with blue plastic panels. Boxy blue telescopic sight. Battery operated action with sound and flashing light in the barrel. Visible bullet in the side. The box is marked TOMMY Z though the gun has no marking. 47cm The box does not have any space graphics.

See the Flash Gordon Stun Gun version.

TOMMY-RAY SPACE GUN - B&W PLASTICS - USALarge plastic tommy gun with yellow details. The gun has an unusual organic shape with a traditional drum magazine in the middle. The top of the gun has a distinct hump which is pierced by a detachable plastic sight. 22' inches long. Made by B-W Molded Plastics Co. Includes matching plastic space helmet. USA. Red and blue versions.

Widely advertised from November 1953.

TRACER MACHINE GUN - SANKEI - JAPANA large (20 inch) blue tin lithographed space machine gun with a wood effect stock decorated with space scenes. Short barrel. The interesting feature of this space gun is that it accepts a detachable clip of ammo. Turning the crank moves the clip through the gun with noise and spark action. The box depicts a military scene but there's no denying the rocket on the stock. xadded

TRIPLE ACTION JET DART GUN - SUPERIOR - USAA later release of the Three Shot Rocket Gun wit more of an emphasis on jet planes rather than space. Silver grey plastic rocket jet shaped space gun. Shoots three rubber tipped darts simultaneously. Comes with a new target with jet planes. Superior is the trading name of T Cohn, the TC logo on the toy. This gun was also released with minor modifications and a new box as the Triple Jet Dart Gun by the UK Marx company based in Swansea. The reason why Marx is using a Superior mold is still unclear.

TWIN JET GUN - RANGER STEEL PRODUCTS - USAThis is a hard plastic space gun based on the Ranger Cosmic Ray Gun. There are two yellow fins on the top that lift to give access to the flints: hence the "twin jet" name. Yellow trigger. Clear red plastic barrel nozzle and a second spark window in the middle. The letter R is molded into the handle. Friction sparking action from two locations. Replaceable flints. Size: 10" 25cm

The elaborate spacey design is a complex mixture of components. Two color versions are known: red with yellow components and vice versa.

The gun appears as the Twin Ray Jet Gun in a Goodrich catalog for 1953.

ULTRAMAN SPACE GUN - SUPERSOL - ARGENTINAGrey plastic space rifle with angled stock and long telescopic sight. Ultraman wording and the character is molded into the handle. Action? Sold in bag with header card. Supersol has a seal logo. Date?

UNIVERSAL GUN - NOMURA / KDP - JAPANEarly Japanese brightly lithographed tin space machine gun. This innovatively designed gun has a ribbed center section with a cylindrical magazine attached to the bottom. It has a large and wide black tin barrel and a long slender sight is fixed along the top. Wind up sound and spark action. Card box with paper label.

The gun has a TN logo on the stock and the box carries a KDP inside a stylised S logo.

UNIVERSAL MACHINE GUN - NOMURA - JAPANA serious looking military-style lithographed tin space machine pistol. The silver grey gun has a brown stock and an extendible wire attachment at the back. Its most distinctive feature is a clip of tin simulated bullets that fit into an arc shaped magazine. There is little of space interest on the gun except for an atom pattern and the wording Universal Machine Gun. The rather plain box has slightly more of a space theme with an astronaut standing by a rocket launch pad. Date?

URANIA SPACE WATER PISTOL - MAKER? - ITALY?A bulbous clear yellow plastic space water pistol with rotating plastic aliens inside. This is a version of the Astronaut Rocket Ray Gun gun produced by Ideal toy company, J.G. Schrödel of Nuremberg. This is smaller than the German design. 15cm It has URANIA molded on the rear fin. Possibly Italian. Box?

VIDEO SPACE FLASH RAY BUZZER GUN - MAKER? - USAIt is possible that this gun was never released, but it appears in the 1952 Blackwell-Wielandy catalog. The bronze colored plastic battery operated space flashlight gun has several unusual features: a wheel-like structure at the back, a series of coils or springs around the barrel, a a telescopic sight in the shape of a jet rocket mounted on top and a sliding device in the lens housing. 9"

Box? Photo?

W-SPACE GUN - MARUBISHI - JAPANRAY-W-GUN -
Stubby red, blue and white lithographed tin raygun. Double barrelled, both barrels are clear red plastic with red inserts. Unusually the barrels are mounted one above the other instead of the usual side by side configuration. This is the same pressing as the RAY-W-GUN by Marubishi.

The barrels are the same components used on the Marubishi Astro Mobil.

WASSERSPRITZPISTOLE SPACE WATER PISTOL - GEOBRA - W GERMANYA transparent plastic space water pistol. This gun is based on the Rex Mars Planet Patrol by Marx. It also has features seen on the Mars water gun by Mak's, H.K. The gun has a classic shape with with rings on the barrel, fins on the muzzle and lines on the body. A streamlined telescopic sight is mounted at the back. The gun has a small working compass on one side of the handle and is marked Geobra on the other side. Sold carded (picture, anyone).

Note the square trigger guard, the larger sight and the compass, all of which distinguish it from the earlier Marx version which has a rounded trigger guard, smaller sight and no compass.

This gun features in the Geobra 1957 catalog. It was also on sale as late as 1963-4 in the Hullinghorts Spielzeug catalog.

WATER GUN TWO RING VERSION - PALMER PLASTICS - USAGrey plastic water pistol space gun with telescopic sight. Stars and Saturn molded in the sides. Bagged with header card. Various colors. Similar to the Palmer Planeteer Gun but with just two rings at the base of the barrel. Various colors.
2 Ring

WATER PISTOL - MAKER - JAPANAn early Japanese lithographed tinplate water pistol. The little blue space gun has an angular pistol shape with a trigger guard and a large yellow star on the handle. On the sides are a lightning bolt, a spaceman floating in space, Saturn and the wording "WATER PISTOL". Box? Date? Details?

WHAM-O INVISIBLE AIR BLASTER - WHAM-O - USAThis distinctively shaped plastic air blaster first appeared in 1965. This is the second generation of such guns and is a reworking of the design first used by Budson in the 1940s.

A pump lever is used to pull back the diaphragm. When the trigger is pulled the gun discharges a powerful jet of air. Despite the lack of space themes on the gun or on the packaging the toy is sought by space gun collectors.

The gun remained in production for many years and several cosmetic changes were made to the gun and the packaging.

Black (top left and bottom right): 1963 - came with a gorilla target printed on the box and separate alien card targets.

Blue/white: 1968

Black with red muzzle: 1978

WORLD SPACE MACHINE GUN - NOMURA / KDP - JAPANEarly Japanese brightly lithographed tin space machine gun. The Universal Gun variant has ribbed center section with a cylindrical magazine attached to the bottom. It has a short black metal barrel tip. Two sights on the top. Wind up sound and spark action.

X-100 MYSTERY SPACE DART GUN - ARLISS - USAStubby rounded plastic space gun with dome bulges at the front. Shoots darts. The main selling feature was the fact that the darts have darts that can be filled with talk powder. The dart suckers have perforations: when they strike a target the talk stains the surface. Available in a range of colors: Burgundy and silver shown. 1950s. See also the X-200 set.
Date?

X-2 AUTOMATIC MACHINE GUN - NOMURA - JAPANA black or dark blue lithographed tinplate machine gun. The battery operated gun has a detachable cylindrical clear plastic magazine on top which light up when in action. The stock has the wording Automatic Ray Gun. Noise and flashing lights. A rather serious gun with little space detail, though the box has a dramatic space combat scene. 22" Similar in design to the Flashy Ray Gun.

Oddly, the gun appears in the 1956 Yonezawa (yes) catalog. It also features in the Nomura Catalog for 1964.

YU DO DAN - MAKER? - JAPANAn early Japanese black tinplate space gun. The poor photo hides much of the detail of this cap firing gun. It does have a trigger guard. The box has the picture of a Thunderbird 1 style rocket flying over the ocean in a Midway style battle with an aircraft carrier. Maker? better photo? Plated metal.

ZETARAY SPACE GUN - PIFCO - ENGLANDPlastic battery operated fashlight space gun. Rounded shape with rear fins and a knurled molding at the back. Seen in metallic gold and metallic blue. Some examples reveal "ghost" traces of the Raydionic Resonator Beam Space Gun wording indicating that it is an adaptation of the Raydionic mold. Date c1969

Offered as a mail away with Kellog's Sugar Smacks in 1969.

ZIP ZIP SPACE GUN - MAKER? - USAA die cast metal space gun dating from the early 1950s. The slender grey metal gun has cooling fin details on the body and a swept back front sight, also with fins.

This is probably an unfinished prototype. There is no firing mechanism.

ZIRO-ZIP SPACE GUN - TOMY - JAPANThis is a variation of the Tomy Siren raygun design. Red and white plastic flashlight raygun with siren - the box shows a blue and white version. The Tomy trademark is molded into the side of the gun. There is a red light at the top front of the gun. 7.5" 19cm Tomy also released the Ultra Space Gun version of this gun.

ZOOKA POP PISTOL - DAISY MFG - USAThis brightly colored red, yellow and blue 7" litho steel space gun is based on the pre-war XZ-35 "Wilma" Buck Rogers design. Daisy no longer held rights to the Buck Rogers name and significantly this gun makes no claim to being a space gun.

Zoomeray Pistol - Tigrett - USAA packaging variation of the gun by Tigrett Enterprises in the 1950's. Made of fairly durable plastic. It makes use of a catapult system to propel the paper tube from the barrel. Sold in a bag with a header card.

Advertised as the "new atomic pistol" from May 1951.

ZOOMERMATIC - TIGRETT - USAA variation of the Zoomeray gun with a more substantial plastic body with elaborate plastic scroll work on the top. The gun has the same skeletal handle. The gun now has a working trigger which propels a coiled paper streamer attached to a plastic rod. Sold on a header card.